The Allure of Snow
by kjt1
Summary: Josh shows Donna how nice snow can be... (J/D romance but general fun too) - 2/2
1. Part 1

TITLE: "The Allure of Snow"

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMERS: I don't own 'em.

SUMMARY: Josh shows Donna how nice snow can be…

NOTES: This was written in response to the December Challenge on the JDFF list. The challenge criteria was for Josh and Donna to have a walk in the snow. That happens…right at the end; I decided to let everyone have a little fun first. g

THANKS: Thanks to Sharon for acting as beta…also for suggesting bringing Jealous Josh out to play :-)

FEEDBACK: Please, send it my way.

**

"Donna, can you come in here for a sec please?" Josh called as soon as Donna arrived at her desk. She had been surprised to find Josh in the office before her, he wasn't usually a morning person, but she shook off her surprise, grabbed her notepad and pen, and entered his office.

"Morning, Josh," she said as she entered to find him leaning against his bookcase, arms behind his back.

"Morning. Can you close the door?" he asked, motioning with his head. Donna did as he requested and then started to move towards the visitor's chair. "Hang on," Josh said, stopping her in her tracks.

"Josh? What—" Donna's question was cut off as she was hit in the left shoulder by a snowball. She let out a squeal, dropped her notepad and pen and brought her right hand up to rub her wet shoulder. "What the hell…Josh?"

"Gotcha!" Josh said with glee, his dimples out in full force and looking like a little boy who'd just found some forbidden candy.

"Josh! Was that a _snowball_?" Donna asked furiously. He nodded his head rapidly, grinning widely. "Where the hell did it come from?"

Josh pointed towards his small office fridge as he replied. "I made it outside as I was arriving and managed to get it into my icebox before it melted."

"And you did this because….?" Her anger had subsided a little, but only a little.

"Because I figured it would be fun to hit someone with it," he replied with amusement.

"Really. And you picked _me_ because…?"

"Because Toby wouldn't share the sense of fun, Sam would duck – his reflexes are too good sometimes – and CJ would kill me," he stated lightly.

Donna was rubbing her shoulder with her right hand and Josh looked a little guilty as he noticed the action. "Did it hurt?" he asked quietly, looking at her shoulder.

"Yes," she hissed; her shoulder was really stinging and her wet blouse was sticking to it, making it worse.

"I'm sorry," Josh said guiltily. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I just thought it would be funny."

"Well, it wasn't," Donna replied. "God, I thought I'd gotten away from snowball fights when I moved down here."

Josh furrowed his brow as he thought about Donna's statement. "What do you mean? Didn't you think it snowed in D.C.?"

Donna narrowed her eyes as she responded. "Josh. I meant that I thought I would be free of snowballs since I'm no longer around Frankie."

"Frankie? Your brother? Okay, I'm really not following this conversation, Donna," Josh said as he sat down behind his desk and faced Donna, who had now flopped down into the visitor's chair, still rubbing her shoulder.

Donna let out a long sigh, trying to decide whether to tell Josh about how her brother used to torment her when they were younger. She finally decided that he wouldn't stop asking until she told him.

"Well, you know Frankie is a couple of years older than me, right?" she asked, and was met with a nod from Josh. "Well, every winter he used to try and impress his friends by getting them to help him attack me with snowballs." Josh started to chuckle but stopped when he saw Donna's steely glare. "It wasn't funny, Josh. Some of his so-called _friends_ used to put stones and stuff in the snowballs, they really hurt," she said, beginning to sound a little upset as she thought of the memories.

"And when I hit you with the snowball, it reminded you of that?" Josh guessed. Donna nodded slowly, keeping her head dipped.

"Yeah…Frankie would never believe me about what his friends did, he was always trying to fit in with them, be one of the cool kids. Anyway, they finally grew up and stopped throwing snowballs at anyone apart from each other, but I've always hated snowballs as a result. I know it sounds childish, Josh," Donna continued, her tone conveying a sense of self-disgust, "but, I can't help it."

"Hey, it's okay, I understand," Josh said gently. "It sounds like Frankie has a lot to answer for."

"He does," Donna agreed. "He took all the fun and joy out of snow for me."

"How do you mean? Snow isn't just about snowballs, Donna, there's so much more…the first footsteps, making snow angels, hell, even making snowmen…he couldn't have ruined all that for you."

Donna looked up at him again, unshed tears beginning to glisten in her eyes and she sniffed a little as she spoke. "God, I sound like such an idiot but, I don't like snowmen either," she confessed.

Josh jumped up from his chair and sat down on the edge of his desk, only inches from Donna. "How can you not like snowmen?" he asked in disbelief, looking at her intently.

"We…when we were kids," Donna started to explain, "My dad used to challenge Frankie and I to build a snowman each. He would choose which one he liked best and the winner got to decorate the Christmas tree."

"And Frankie always won?" Josh deduced.

"Frankie always cheated," Donna corrected.

Josh couldn't help his chuckle. "Okay, how can you _cheat_ at building a snowman?" he asked through his laughter.

"We used to put a lot of effort into them, you know…sculpt them and stuff. Anyway, when we finished I always went to get dad to come out and judge. While I was gone, Frankie used to sabotage my snowman." Donna's voice was very small as she spoke and Josh had to try really hard not to laugh any more; he could tell Donna was bothered by the memories.

"How did he sabotage them?" he asked gently.

"Well, one year he put a Mets cap onto mine," she replied seriously.

"And that was bad, how?" Josh asked, scrunching his face in confusion.

"My dad's a Yankees fan, Josh."

"Ah, yeah, I forgot that none of your family has any taste when it comes to sports." Donna rolled her eyes at his comment but remained silent. "You gotta admit though, Donna, it was a pretty ingenious attempt at sabotage." She glared at him and he put his hands up in defense. "Okay, but…didn't you just tell your dad what happened?"

"No, he would never have believed me. Frankie has always been the golden boy…I mean, they never favored him over me in anything that really _mattered_, and I know they love us both the same, but things like this, Frankie could get away with whatever he wanted."

Donna had dipped her head again while she was speaking, but Josh could still see the red flush of embarrassment on her face and realized that she hadn't planned on telling him any of the stories. He reached out a hand and raised her chin so that she was forced to look at him.

"Okay, come on," he said, standing up from his desk and letting his hand fall.

"What? Where are we going?" Donna asked with a tone full of bewilderment.

"I'm going to show you how _fun_ snow can be, how nice it is at this time of the morning. It only snowed last night, there are bound to be areas of the White House grounds where the snow is still untouched." 

He grabbed his coat from its hook and shrugged it on, walking into the bullpen and grabbing Donna's coat. He held it out for her and she slowly put it on, still looking thoroughly confused.

"Come on," he said encouragingly, leading the way from the West Wing.

*

"You know, we might have some time around lunch, you could build a snowman here," Josh suggested as they walked towards the North Gate of the White House, tramping through the snow and grinning at the imprints their shoes made.

Donna looked at him like he was crazy. "Josh, I am _so_ not gonna to do that."

"Why not?" he asked seriously. "It'd be fun, I'll even help…or at least, I'll make sure no-one attempts to sabotage it."

"Everyone would laugh, Josh. I'm not doing it."

"They won't laugh," he stated matter-of-factly.

Donna raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Really? How can you be so sure?"  
  
"Because, most everyone in there," he replied, pointing towards the White House, "works for me. They won't laugh."

Donna couldn't help but smile at his arrogance but she still shook her head. "It's not gonna happen, Josh. If you want to see a snowman out here, build it yourself."

*

"Josh, did you just get here?" the President asked as Josh arrived in the Oval Office for a meeting with the President and Leo.

"In the Oval Office? Yes. In work, no," Josh replied.

"So, why are your pant legs wet?" the President asked with amusement. Josh looked down and saw the evidence of his walk with Donna.

"You probably don't want to know, Sir."

"On the contrary, Josh, I _definitely_ want to know. Have you been playing in the snow?" The mirth in the President's tone was evident and Leo rolled his eyes in exasperation, knowing the meeting wouldn't start until the President had satisfied his amusement.

"Something like that, Sir," Josh responded, trying to keep his answer short. The President gave him an inquisitive look and Josh finally filled him in on his walk with Donna and the reasons behind it.

"I think that's a fantastic idea, Josh," the President stated as Josh finished relating the story.

"What's a fantastic idea, Sir?" Josh asked dubiously.

"Building a snowman in the White House grounds. I think you should do that, in fact, I think everyone on Senior Staff should do that."

"Okay, Sir, are you just playing with me now?"

"No, Josh, I'm serious. It would be a good way for you all to get rid of some of the stress you carry around with you…let your hair down a bit. We'll have a competition and I can be the judge," the President declared. Josh and Leo let out matching groans and shared looks of desperation.

"Sir," Leo finally spoke up, "with all due respect, we all have _jobs_ to do, jobs that are paid for by tax-payers. I don't think they'd appreciate us spending time building snowmen."

"Oh, Leo, stop being such an old curmudgeon; live a little. It'll be fun…I'll exempt you from the competition," the President offered and Leo got a gleam in his eyes that matched the mischievous one in the President's.

"Well, in that case, I'm all for it," Leo stated. Josh let out another loud groan and started muttering to himself.

"Good, good," the President continued. "I'll have a think about the way it should work and will get Charlie to issue everyone with some rules. Now, I suppose we'd better get down to business."

*

"A snowman competition, are you _serious_?" Donna asked skeptically as Josh filled her in on the President's plans.

"Unfortunately, I am," Josh groused. "Believe me, Leo and I tried to talk him out of it…well, I tried to talk him out of it, Leo just jumped ship when the President said he was exempt—"

"Josh."

"The President's insisting."

"He's insisting?"

"Yes. And it's really all your fault."

"How is it _my_ fault? Is this some kind of 'Josh logic' at work again?" she asked with mild laughter.

"I had to explain why my pant legs were wet," Josh informed her, "which meant I had to tell the President about Frankie sabotaging your snowmen and everything…it planted the idea in his head."

"You always find a way to blame me, don't you?" Donna accused. Josh grinned at her, admitting she was right and she rolled her eyes. "Well, all I can say is my snowman is _so_ gonna beat yours!" she declared, sticking her tongue out at him and causing him to laugh heartily.

"Keep dreaming, Donnatella, it's never gonna happen, I am a snowman master!"

"'Snowman master', Joshua?"

*

"Umm, Josh, the competition rules have arrived," Donna said hesitantly as she entered Josh's office later that afternoon. He looked up from his desk and scrubbed a hand across his face.

"What?"

"The rules for the snowman building competition. Charlie just brought them." She handed him the piece of paper and he quickly scanned it, grimacing as he noted the contents.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," Josh said as he finished reading, his tone reaching high-pitched levels and registering his disbelief.

"It's there in black-and-white, Josh, and is signed by the President," Donna replied.

"We have to work _together_?" he said in a whiny voice, indicating himself and Donna. "Damn," he continued, clicking his fingers for emphasis, "and I was so looking forward to kicking your ass."

"Yeah, that'd happen," Donna deadpanned. "Anyway, yes, each member of the Senior Staff, except Leo, is to team up with their Assistant. I'm as underjoyed about it as you by the way, before you start complaining," she pointed out.

"Underjoyed, Donna?"

"It's a word," she maintained.

"Sure," he smirked. Josh let out a sigh of resignation. "Okay…well, I guess this means we have to team up. Let's just make sure we _win_ this thing, Donna. There's no way I'm gonna have CJ or Sam beating me."

"What about Toby? Don't you think he stands a chance of winning?"

Josh smirked at her before replying, "I think Toby is gonna do everything he can to get out of this thing, and if he can't get out of it, he'll just get Ginger to do most of the work."

"He can't," Donna stated and Josh looked at her inquisitively. "It says in the notes at the bottom that Secret Service Agents will be monitoring the competition, to protect us while we're in the grounds, but they'll also be noting the amount of time that each team member spends building. It's to be an equal partnership."

"Why am I not surprised? Since I haven't heard any yelling yet, I'm assuming Toby hasn't read this?"

Donna shook her head. "No, Charlie said he's delivering that one last and then running, very fast, back to the Oval Office. Toby hasn't heard of the phrase 'don't shoot the messenger'," she replied through a grin.

*

"So, I assume you've all seen the rules for the snowman competition by now?" the President asked with a grin as the evening Senior Staff meeting was winding down. Numerous groans and grumbles could be heard around the room but it was Josh who replied.

"Yes, and I have a question about it, Sir." All eyes turned to look at him. "If it's a _competition_, shouldn't there be some sort of prize?" he asked. "There was no mention of it in the memo you sent out."

"Ah, Josh, I'm glad you brought that up," the President replied, surveying the faces of everyone in the room. "It took me a while to think of something, but I have come up with a suitable reward." They all looked at him inquisitively and he continued, "The winning Senior Staff member and their Assistant will be treated to a luxurious dinner in the Residence; they may each invite one other person to dinner, if they so wish, and that person may or may not be another member of White House staff. How does that sound?" He looked proud of himself and was expecting appreciative responses; he didn't get them.

"Uh, Sir, with all due respect," Sam bravely said, "we could just as easily go _out_ to dinner. What's so special about this? Will we be having dinner with you?"

"No, Sam, the winners will be dining without me; I will be otherwise engaged. While the meal is being consumed, I will be holding a discussion on the history of the snowman tradition in which all the unsuccessful competition entrants will be participating."

Groans could be heard around the room again and the eyes of most of the Senior Staff members were focussed on Josh; he could practically read their minds and prepared himself for the ear-bashing he was going to get after the meeting.

*

"You are _so_ gonna be joining that discussion, Josh," CJ stated as they all left the Oval Office. He gave her an amused look.

"I really don't think I will be, Claudia Jean. I'm gonna win this competition," he replied.

"Josh, we took a vote earlier," Sam said, indicating himself, CJ and Toby. Josh looked at him curiously. "We voted that you should lose this competition since you were the one who put the idea in his head in the first place."

"Really," Josh replied, "and just when did you hold this vote? Before or after you heard about the wooden spoon prize? 'Cos, if it was after, I wanna know how you managed that in the 20 seconds between the meeting ending and this conversation starting. Have you guys developed telepathic powers or something?" he finished with a smirk.

"Josh, the point of this conversation is that you and Donna are going to make sure you lose; that way we can all put minimal effort into this instead of wasting our time. Seriously, if I didn't know the President would find a way to torture me even more, I would just throw you into the snow and say you were my entry," Toby said gruffly.

"Hey, stop ganging up on me," Josh whined defensively. "Donna's the one who started all this, you know."

"I'll tell her you said that," CJ shot at him and he immediately looked guilty, and worried.

"Look, I am _not_ going to throw this competition, it's not in my nature, it'd go against the grain, as they say. If you guys want to win, you're gonna have to try and beat me, fair and square." He left them fuming and muttering under their breaths as he wandered back to his office.

*

"Donna, I found out what the prize is, and what will happen to the losers," Josh said upon his return to the bullpen. She looked up at him and waited for him to explain; he filled her in on what the President had told them. "We definitely need to win," he stated as he finished.

"I wouldn't mind listening to the President's history lesson," Donna informed him with a wicked grin. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Don't even _think_ about trying to make us lose, Donna," he warned.

"I won't. As much as I'd like to listen to the President, I think I'd rather have the luxurious meal. So, any ideas on how we can win this thing?"

He gave her a conspiratorial look. "Yep. The two S's."

Donna shrugged her shoulders questioningly. "Sam Seaborn?"

"No," he laughed. "Skill and sabotage. You said Frankie sabotaged a few of your attempts, I wanna know what he did and we can try and put some of his ideas to good use."

"That's a pity," Donna said with a sigh.

"What's a pity?" Josh asked in confusion.

"Well, I was just thinking that Sam would make a good prize. Although, if we win, I could invite him to dinner…"

"Donna!" Josh exclaimed, then noticed her evil grin and shook his head in exasperation.

*

"Did you manage to get everything?" Josh asked as he arrived at work the next morning.

Donna followed him into his office and closed the door before replying. "Yes, but are you sure about all this? I mean…they're gonna kill us."

Josh grinned at her. "No, they'll kill _you_." Donna raised her eyebrows. "You're the reason the President got the idea for the competition in the first place and then _you_ told me about Frankie's sabotage, which has prompted the rest of this; they're gonna blame you," he stated again.

"And you'll let me take the blame alone?" she asked mock-angrily.

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as he laughed and replied, "Yeah."

Donna let out a sigh of irritation, but the devious look on Josh's face caused her to laugh along with him.

"Okay, what time does this thing start?" he asked, searching on his desk for his schedule; Donna handed him the piece of paper.

"2pm. Well, we start building at 2 and we get two hours in which to build our snowman."

"Right. Well, I suggest that we do a little reconnaissance before then," he proposed. Donna looked at him blankly. "We need to find the best spot to build on and we need to plan out how we're going to do it; 2 hours isn't that long."

"Josh, don't you think you're maybe taking this just a _little_ too seriously?" she asked, trying to hide her amusement.

Josh looked up at her. "No. It's a serious business, Donna. I _don't_ want to have to listen to the President's talk…we have to win this thing," he stated seriously.

"I think you're going round the bend again."

"That may be true, but that's not due to this competition," he said, smirking at her as she quirked an eyebrow at him. "That's due to all the years I've worked with you."

Donna rolled her eyes, let out another sigh of exasperation and left his office, shaking her head.

*

"I think this spot will do, what do you think?" Josh asked Donna as he stopped walking on the snow-covered North lawn of the White House.

"Isn't there something in the rules telling us where we should build?"

Josh smirked at her. "Nope. The President forgot that little bit, we can build anywhere we want."

"Yeah, but, he's not gonna want to wander right around the grounds to judge, and he's also not going to want to have to post Secret Service agents all over the place; I'm pretty sure he expects us all to build in the same general vicinity," Donna stated, waving her arms around for emphasis.

"That may be true; I'm not saying we _can't_ all build in the same vicinity," Josh replied. "I'm just making sure that we get the prime piece of land…the area with the most deeply-packed snow that'll make it easier to build with," he added.

"So, you're going to inform everyone else that they have to build where _you_ tell them to? Don't you think they might have a problem with that…be a little suspicious?"

"Nah, they'll just be pissed that they didn't think of it first," he grinned. "Gimme the cones," he instructed, taking the traffic cones, that he had forced her to carry, from Donna's hands and using them to mark out an area in the snow. He then took some laminated signs from his pocket, which Donna had created on his request, and attached them to a few of the cones. "There," he said as he finished his task and stood back to admire his handiwork, "Josh and Donna land is complete."

Donna looked at the coned-off square of land and the signs adorning them and nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, indeed it is. Now we have _both_ gone round the bend. The rest of the staff are gonna build a hut or something in _Josh and Donna land_ and lock us in it."

"That could be fun; we'd need to find a way to keep warm," Josh said, grinning widely and raising his eyebrows suggestively. Donna rolled her eyes and started to walk back towards the West Wing.

"Hang on," Josh called. She turned around and found him approaching a Secret Service Agent. "You on duty for the snowman building competition?" he asked the agent and was given an affirmative response. "Good. Well, as you can see, we," he continued, indicating himself and Donna, "have taken the trouble to mark out our area. I'd appreciate it if you could make sure that it remains undisturbed."

"I'll give it my best attempt, Mr Lyman," the agent replied dryly, giving Donna a pitying look. The agent then spoke quietly into his wrist microphone; "Harvard has gone round the bend. I think his cute assistant could use some rescuing. Back me up, I'm going in."

Josh was shocked when he heard the agent's comments and was even more shocked as he saw the agent approach Donna.

"Miss Moss, if you need any help, you only have to ask. I understand what it's like to have an eccentric boss," he stated with a smirk and giving her a flirtatious look.

"Hey," Josh said gruffly, turning around and placing a guiding hand at Donna's back while they returned to the office.

Donna looked back over her shoulder and smiled at the agent; "It's Donna, not Miss Moss." Josh placed his hand more firmly on her back and quickened their pace.

* 

"I can't _believe_ I'm doing this," Toby grumbled for about the hundredth time as he and Ginger put the head onto their snowman.

"WE KNOW TOBY," his companions yelled in chorus.

The four teams – consisting of Josh/Donna, CJ/Carol, Sam/Bonnie and Toby/Ginger - had been working on their snowmen for just under an hour and all were cold and grumpy; except Donna, who was decidedly cheery - the Secret Service Agent from earlier kept glancing over at her and giving her more flirtatious looks. Josh had noticed this and was shooting menacing glares at the agent, but these were being ignored.

"Come one guys, this is fun," Josh stated, snapping out of his scowl and trying to brighten the spirits of those around him. "It's not every day we get time off to enjoy the outdoors."

"Since when have you become an outdoorsman, Josh?" Sam asked with a pointed look.

"Hey!" Josh tried to act wounded, but Sam wasn't buying it.

"I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be so happy about this if you and Donna hadn't staked out prime snow earlier on," Sam accused.

Josh shrugged his shoulders, but his face held a mischievous grin. "It's not my fault if you guys weren't prepared."

"Josh, we didn't exactly expect you to create _Josh and Donna land_," CJ argued, pointing to the coned-off area that he and Donna were standing in and the signs literally saying 'Josh and Donna land' that were still attached to the cones.

"Hey, you challenged me; you told me to lose this competition and I told you there was no way I was going to do that. Donna and I took measures to make sure my prediction was correct, sue me," he retorted in a challenging tone.

Donna rolled her eyes as she realized the maturity levels were sinking again and she snapped Josh back to the task in hand. "Josh, a little help here would be good. You don't want the Secret Service reporting back that I did all the work now, do you?"

"Yeah. Speaking of the Secret Service," Josh said, looking towards the flirty agent. "Hey, buddy, can you quit making eyes at Donna, it's distracting her."  
  
"Josh," Donna admonished with a gasp, a blush creeping over her face.

"Jealous, Josh?" Sam quipped loudly.

"Shut up," Josh yelled back before turning to Donna and giving her a look; silently asking her what she wanted him to do. She handed him a large-toothed comb and pointed to their snowman's head.

"That's another thing," Sam called as Josh took the comb from Donna. "What's with bringing tools with you? Don't you think that gives you an unfair advantage over the rest of us?"

There was a smirk on Josh's face as he considered his reply to Sam. "There's nothing in the rules saying we couldn't bring tools, Sam. You say that I'm not a _real_ lawyer, but even I could see that. Again, I point out that it's not my fault if you weren't prepared. You got the memo with the rules at the same time as I did. Donna and I had a team meeting last night to plan for this; two hours of building time isn't a lot, we needed to come up with a strategy and, as you know, I am a master strateg—"

"Josh," Donna hissed, stopping him mid-flow. "Would you quit arguing and _help_ me here?"

"Sorry," he said seriously, starting to run the comb through the head of their snowman. "Which hairstyle did we decide on again?" he asked with a grin.

*

"What are you doing _now_, Josh?" Sam whined as he watched Josh lift a jacket from the ground and hold it up against the snowman.

"Getting him dressed," Josh replied simply.

"You're kidding me! That's really not fair, Josh," Sam complained, moving into the area Josh and Donna were working in.

"Well, Sam, I'll be nice and fair," Josh replied, giving Donna a conspiratorial glance before turning to face Sam. Josh sighed as his face housed a look of exasperation, adding credence to the idea that he was bored of Sam's constant interruptions, "How about I let you take this jacket to put on the snowman you and Bonnie are building?" he offered. "Donna and I brought a few things to use so it won't be a problem."

"Do we really _need_ clothes?" Sam asked wonderingly.

"If you wanna win, yeah," Donna answered; sensing Josh was about to lose the fight he was having with a bout of laughter.

"Okay, thanks," Sam said, taking the proffered jacket from Josh's hands and returning to his own snowman.

"One down, two to go," Josh whispered into Donna's ear.

*

CJ walked over to Josh and Donna a few minutes later. "How come you loaned Sam something to put on his snowman?" she asked suspiciously.

Josh and Donna gave her innocent looks. "We were just trying to help him out, CJ," Josh replied. "He looked like he needed it."

CJ didn't buy Josh's answer and continued to give him a suspicious look. Donna, sensing CJ was trying to figure out what she and Josh were up to, spoke up, "Sam was bugging Josh every five minutes complaining, so Josh gave him the coat to shut him up."

CJ contemplated Donna's answer and, seeming to accept it, she looked back at her snowman and then to Sam's.

"Hmm, well now _I_ feel left out, my snowman is naked," she whined lightly, pointing to the snowman where Carol was adding a carrot for a nose.

Donna glanced at Josh quickly and then looked down at the remaining items on the ground beside their snowman. "Well, why don't you use these?" she suggested, holding out a pair of sweats.

"Hmm, you're not trying to trick me, are you?" CJ asked warily.

"No," Josh replied with irritation. "We just want to get rid of you so we can get on with our _own_ snowman."

"Yeah, yeah, gimme that stuff," CJ said, grabbing the sweats from Donna.

"Only one more to go," Donna whispered evilly to Josh as CJ walked away.

"Yeah, but Toby's gonna be the hard one. Look," Josh replied, pointing towards Toby, who was looking at CJ trying to attach the sweatpants to her snowman, "I think he's already figured out what we're up to. He's not gonna fall for it so easily."

"He won't have to," Donna stated, pointing to the cigar on the face of Toby and Ginger's snowman. Josh got her meaning and grinned wickedly at her.

**

TBC


	2. Part 2

Disclaimers, etc. as in Part 1

**

"Alright, everyone is to stand over there," Charlie said after he had signaled that their time was up. "The President doesn't want any hints on who made which snowman, he wants the judging to be fair."

"Charlie, –"

"Hey, they're his orders, CJ, I would suggest you don't go against them," Charlie stated.

All the competitors moved off to the area Charlie had pointed to and waited for the arrival of the President; Josh and Donna had already removed the cones from around their area so there was no real evidence of who had built what. They were all standing behind the snowmen, watching for the President, when Josh suddenly walked in front of everyone, moving towards Toby's snowman.

"Josh, what are you doing?" Toby growled.

"Nothing," Josh replied innocently. "I just spotted one of Ginger's hairclips on the ground in front of your snowman; it'll give the game away about whose this is."

Toby and Ginger watched him suspiciously but their attention was drawn away when Donna said that the President was coming. Josh took advantage of not being watched for a second to do what he and Donna had planned and then he quickly took his place by Donna's side in time for the President's arrival.

*

"Josh, what's that on your snowman's head?" Sam asked quietly as they waited for the President to join them. "It wasn't there a few minutes ago when we came to stand here. In fact, your snowman didn't even have clothes a minute ago. What's going on?"

"Donna and I took a few extra moments to walk over here," Josh replied with a shrug. "We had to add the finishing touches. You'll see what they are in a moment."

"Well, well, I can see you've all been hard at work," the President commented as he and Leo arrived in front of the snowmen and started surveying them.

"Yep, we have. We just hope it's been worth the effort, Sir," Josh replied eagerly, bouncing around on his feet. Donna put a restraining hand on his arm.

"Hmm, well, let me have a look. I will announce the winner once I've studied all the entries properly."

They all waited behind the snowmen while the President looked at their work but they were soon beckoned to join him at the front. As the others saw Josh and Donna's snowman they all gave them evil glances.

"Well, I'll start with this one," the President said, standing in front of Sam and Bonnie's snowman. "I don't think I've seen a snowman with a pen behind its ear before. It's a nice touch though. Good effort. There is one thing that lets it down though."  
  
"What's that, Sir?" Sam asked in a tone he hoped wouldn't reveal that he had built the snowman.

"It's coat," the President replied.

"Sir?" Sam asked with a questioning look.

"This snowman is wearing what I believe is _my_ favorite sports coat. Now, as much as it shows the snowman has good taste, I do believe this means someone either broke into the Residence or roped someone else in to help them," the President said, looking at everyone in turn. "Since no-one has been tied up by the Secret Service, I'm going with the second option." He gave Charlie a stern glance. "Charlie? Did someone ask you to _borrow_ my coat?"

"Someone might have, Sir, yes," Charlie replied with a grin.

"Hmm, I could have you brought up on charges for that, you know," the President stated with a gleam in his eyes. "However, I will forgive you, for now. Moving on…" 

He walked to the next snowman, built by Toby and Ginger and looked at the faces of the Senior Staff and their Assistants. He smirked a little as he saw Toby and Ginger glaring at Josh.

"Well, it looks like this snowman needs to learn to give up smoking, doesn't it?" he said mischievously; the snowman had a cigar in its mouth, a cigar that had been lit by Josh a few minutes before, causing part of the snowman's face to melt. "A melted face is not going to win a competition, you know," the President stated, trying to stop himself from laughing at the menacing scowl on Toby's face.

The President walked to the next snowman, CJ and Carol's, and then turned a mock-glare on everyone. "Someone obviously _really_ wants to participate in my discussion, don't they?"

"What do you mean, Sir?" CJ asked, looking from her snowman to the President and back again.

"Well, why else would this snowman be wearing the colors of the Michigan football team if its builders didn't want to lose the competition?" he replied.

CJ turned a steely glare on Josh and Donna, who both looked back innocently.

"And, finally, we have this snowman," the President said, now standing in front of Josh and Donna's entry. "Well, I think I can safely say that we have our winner. This is fantastic; a Notre Dame sweatshirt and baseball cap, sweatpants tied around the waist, neatly combed hair. Yes, someone put in extra-effort with this entry and it deserves to be rewarded." The President turned to face everyone again. "Okay, well this snowman is the winner. Now, all of you go and stand by your respective entries."

Everyone did as requested, but not before several glares were directed at Josh and Donna.

"Ah, so our Deputy Chief of Staff and his lovely Assistant are the winners, are they? Congratulations." The President stretched a hand out towards Josh but was stopped from shaking it by the sound of Sam's voice.

"Sir, can I just point out that there is no way _they_ should be winning."

The President turned an amused face to Sam. "And why not, Sam?"

"Well, they went out of their way to sabotage all the other entries," he explained. "Josh lent me the sports coat, _your_ sports coat; Donna loaned CJ the Michigan sweats, knowing that CJ would have no idea what they were, and I'm pretty sure Josh lit the cigar on Toby's snowman just as you were arriving."

The President looked at Josh and Donna. "Well, Josh? Donna? What have you to say to these accusations?"

Josh shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "We plead the 5th, Sir," he replied with a grin.

"Okay, well," the President said, addressing them all again, "I think that Josh and Donna's actions, if they did do the things you accuse them of, Sam; I think it shows great ingenuity and a willingness to win. I think it gives me even more reason to announce them as the winners."

Collective groans could be heard from the rest of the competitors as Josh and Donna high-fived each other. The White House Press Corps had been invited to watch the competition and many were making copious notes and taking photographs of the looks on everyone's faces, particularly the victorious grins of Josh and Donna.

"So, you two will have the pleasure of dinner in the Residence tomorrow night," the President told Josh and Donna, who were still grinning.

"Tomorrow night, Sir?" Josh replied with a furrowed brow.

"We've all lost too much time already today, Josh, through this competition. The dinner and discussion will be held tomorrow night, barring emergencies, so that tonight we can all catch up on work," Leo explained.

"Besides," the President added," I'm sure you and Donna will want the chance to dress appropriately for the occasion."

Josh rolled his eyes but smiled warmly at Donna when he saw the glint in her eyes.

"So, who would you like to invite to join you for dinner, Josh?" the President asked.

"Well, actually, Sir," Josh replied, keeping his head dipped to avoid the glares he knew would soon be directed at him, "Donna and I discussed this earlier and we decided that if we won, we wouldn't want to invite anyone."

"Really?" the President asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah. We wouldn't want to deprive anyone from your lect—sorry, _discussion_ on the finer points of the snowman tradition, Sir," he responded with a wide grin.

"Okay, well, I'll let the stewards know to set the table for two. Donna," he said, turning to her, "you and Josh should be in the Residence for 8pm tomorrow for dinner, and the rest of you," he turned to look at everyone else, "should be in the Oval Office at the same time."

Josh and Donna noticed numerous mutterings and glares aimed at them from the rest of the Senior Staff and Assistants as they walked back to the West Wing but they ignored them; they were still slightly euphoric about their victory.

*

"Josh, I'm just gonna go and get ready, okay? I won't be long," Donna told him as she poked her head into his office just after 7 the following evening.

He looked up at her with a furrowed brow.

"Donna, we still have an hour until dinner, why do you need to get ready now?"

"Josh," she replied in exasperation, "you do this every time. We're having dinner in the _Residence_, I need time to get myself organized, you know, grab a shower in the gym and stuff."

"Yeah, but it's only _us_ that are gonna be at the dinner, Donna, there's no need to make a big deal out of it," he responded. He noticed her pout, and the sad look in her eyes, and he quickly amended his statement, "Not that it's _not_ a big deal or anything, I mean…look, okay, you go and get ready. I tell you what, everyone else has been told to be in the Oval by 8 at the latest, how about you go to CJ's office just before 8 and I'll pick you up from there," he suggested.

"Why?" she asked, unable to keep the suspicion out of her tone.

"Because, that way it will seem more like the occasion it is," he replied seriously, looking directly into her eyes.

"Okay," she said brightly, her spirits having been lifted again by his words. She started to turn away but then thought of something and looked back at him. "You are gonna change before we eat, aren't you, Josh?"

"Yeah, I am, don't worry about it. Go make yourself beautiful, Donnatella," he instructed, then added to himself once she was out of earshot, "make yourself _even more_ beautiful, not that it's possible."

*

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for your big date?" Sam asked with amusement as he stepped into Josh's office around 7:30.

"What big date?" Josh replied casually.

"Your dinner with Donna," Sam answered, in a tone meant to convey he wasn't buying Josh's nonchalance.

"It's not a big deal, Sam."

"Oh, I beg to differ, Josh," he stated, taking a seat in the visitor's chair. "After all, you two could have invited other people to join you; you could have had us eating out of your hands to save us from our Presidential discussion tonight, but instead you chose to eat alone, just you and Donna."

There was no way Josh could miss the insinuations and amusement in Sam's pointed remarks, but he tried to keep his face and tone neutral as he raised his head to answer.

"Like I said before, Sam, we didn't want to deprive you of your trivia lesson."

"I still don't believe you, Josh. Anyway, where's Donna? She's not at her desk."

Josh looked at him briefly and then dipped his head again.

"Uh, she went to get changed."

"Really?" Sam drawled. "When did she go?"

Josh kept his head dipped and answered very quietly. "About a half hour ago."

"Yeah? And you don't have to be in the Residence until 8? But it's not a big deal, huh?"

Josh didn't even need to look at him to tell that Sam was smirking and he groaned inwardly. "Shut up and get out, Sam. I have to get changed," he announced, standing up and heading for his closet where his other suit was hanging.

"Okay, buddy. Well, I'm gonna go get tortured by trivia…since you didn't save me from it; make sure your night alone with Donna is worth it."

"Out, Sam!" Josh ordered, shaking his head at his friend's obvious enjoyment.

*

Josh knocked on CJ's office door a little before 8pm.

"Hey, Donnatella, you ready?" he asked gently as he entered to find Donna sitting on the couch waiting for him.

She stood up as he approached and discretely looked him up and down, noting with pleasure that he was now wearing one of his best suits. He held out his arm for her to take and escorted her to the Residence.

The table had been set for their meal and the stewards poured them both a glass of wine before leaving them alone for a few minutes until their first course of soup was ready. Josh was seated at the head of the table, with Donna sitting immediately to his right where they could easily see each other and talk. The room was dimly lit with candles on the table and Josh was silently musing about whether the room would have been set out the same if it hadn't just been him and Donna for dinner. He shook himself out of his thoughts as he heard Donna sigh.

"Everything okay?" he asked softly, looking at her intently; she smiled in response.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking how beautiful this place is…I can't believe I'm having dinner in the White House Residence," she replied in awe.

"And you're wishing you were having dinner with the President as well, instead of just me?" he inquired.

She looked up sharply at his words. "No! Of course not, Josh. I…I couldn't ask for a better dinner companion than you," she replied honestly.

Josh fought to keep the smug smirk from forming on his face, settling instead for a warm smile. "I forgot to tell you something earlier," he said seriously.

"Oh, Josh, this isn't about work is it? I was hoping we could just forget about work for tonight." 

"No, it's not about work," he replied gently, watching as Donna met his piercing gaze. "I forgot to tell you how beautiful you look." He looked directly into her eyes for a second then let his gaze fall to the dress she was wearing before raising his eyes to hers again.

"Thank you, Josh," Donna said breathlessly.

Before either of them could say anymore, the steward arrived with their soup.

During the meal, they chatted about the competition, how their sabotage attempts had been so successful and Donna decided she should finally forgive her brother for cheating in their childhood competition for so many years since she had now benefited as a result; Josh was mentally forming plans for a 'chat' with Frankie about the snowball fights - he wasn't prepared to forgive him for that, even if Donna was. They also discussed their colleagues and wondered if they were managing to stay awake during the President's discussion; Josh grinned widely as he informed Donna that Leo and Margaret had been 'invited' to join the discussion as well, despite Leo's protests.

They had just finished dessert and were starting on their coffee when Charlie entered the room.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt," he said apologetically as Josh shot him a slightly annoyed look.

"It's alright, Charlie, am I needed?" Josh asked in a disappointed voice.

Charlie shook his head. "No, the President just sent me to give you a message," he replied, waving Josh back into his seat. "He said to tell you that the snow has got pretty bad again, it's off for the moment but no-one will be able to get their cars out of the lot. Everyone is getting drivers to take them home; the main roads out of the White House have obviously been kept clear. Anyway, he said to let you know that you should just ask for a driver when you're ready, there's no rush though."

"Okay, thanks Charlie," Josh said, giving him a smile but effectively dismissing him.

"Yeah, have a good night," Charlie replied with a small smirk before making his way back to the Oval Office to report back to the President on how Josh and Donna's dinner was going.

*

"Do you want me to call a driver for you, Sir?" the steward asked once Josh and Donna had completely finished their meal.

"Is it still snowing?" Josh asked in response.

"No, but there's still a lot of snow on the ground."

"It's okay, we want to walk home, walk off all this rich food. Thank you for this evening, we appreciate it," he said, standing and helping Donna from her chair.

The steward brought them their coats and they made their way out of the White House, into the cool, crisp night air.

*

"You alright, Donna?" Josh asked as they were walking home, side-by-side.

"Yeah."

"It's not like you to be so quiet."

"I'm just concentrating on not falling in this snow, Josh."

Josh stopped walking and Donna followed suit a few seconds later when she realized he was no longer beside her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, I just…you still don't see the joy in snow, do you? I mean, even after the snowman thing yesterday, you're still not a fan of it."

Donna shrugged her shoulders as he looked at her. "I guess not. I'm sorry if that disappoints you, but it's just the way I am," she stated quietly.

Josh took a step towards her, stopping just in front of her. "It doesn't disappoint me, well _you_ don't disappoint me anyway. I just…can't you see it's appeal?" he asked, turning her to look across the street.

Donna noted the couples across the street, the little snowman with the crooked button eyes at the corner, but still couldn't find the allure of it.

"Josh, yes it's beautiful, it's just not…" she sighed, not knowing how to finish that thought.

Josh sighed, taking stock of his surroundings and trying to find the best way to make his point. Finally, he said, "Look at the people out on the streets right now. There aren't many around since it's late, but look at those who are. People walking back from working late, couples who've probably just had dinner together…look at those two holding hands and huddling together," he continued, nodding at a couple on the opposite side of the road. "Snow can be nice…it's romantic."

"I agree that it's romantic, Josh," she replied, dipping her head before continuing, " for _other people_."

Josh used a gloved finger to raise her head to look at him. "I'm sorry," he said gently.

"For what?" she asked in confusion, her brow furrowed.

"Well, you'd probably see the romance of the snow if you were with someone other than me tonight," he answered in a crestfallen voice.

"That's not true, Josh," she said quietly, her head bowed as she started to walk again.

He jogged to catch up with her and slowed down his pace to walk beside her again.

"You know, I don't think I really appreciated the snow as much until tonight," he confessed as they continued walking.

"What do you mean?" Donna asked as she looked at him.

"Well, I never…tonight, as we've been walking, I realized some added benefits of the snow."  
  
"Like what?"

They both stopped walking again; Josh drew in a breath and looked at her intently before responding. "The way it reflects off your fair, sorry, _alabaster_ skin and highlights your hair. The way the cold makes your cheeks rosy yet brightens your eyes. The way the snow has achieved what I thought was impossible – it's made you look even more beautiful," he said honestly, his voice husky and filled with emotion.

Donna turned her head away, not quite believing what she was hearing.

"Josh, what…" She was unsure of how to finish her question, not really sure what she wanted to ask.

Josh took her right hand in his left and started walking again. "Do you know why I wanted to win the competition so badly?" he asked, trying to get her to speak to him, to say anything.

"No," she replied shakily.

"As soon as I heard what the prize was, I knew I had to win it."

"To avoid the President's discussion?" she guessed.

"No," he replied sincerely, squeezing her hand gently, "to get to have dinner with you, just the two of us, completely alone."

Donna stopped walking again and let go of his hand, shocked by his openness and honesty. "I…" she stuttered, still not able to respond.

"Why did you make such an effort tonight, Donna? With your dress and everything?" he asked probingly. "I mean, it was just you and me, why was it so important? Don't get me wrong, I appreciated it, I _really_ appreciated it, but why did you make the effort?"

Donna knew what he was trying to get her to admit but she struggled to form the words, her thoughts and emotions crashing together to render her speechless.

"Donna?"

She finally looked up at him, blinking back tears, and answered him in a tone he had never heard before. "_Because_ it was just you and me, Josh. I made the effort for _us_."

It was Josh's turn to not believe what he was hearing and he stood motionless for a few seconds, trying to process what was happening between them; he had an inkling about how Donna felt, it was why he felt safe enough to probe about her feelings for him, but to hear her confirm his suspicions, his hopes, left him breathless. Finally, he took a step closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, placing his lips tentatively against hers. The kiss deepened quickly and it was the cold night air that eventually forced them apart.

"Josh?" Donna said quietly as they neared her apartment; their hands were tightly joined and they were walking as close together as possible, but they had remained silent on the journey between where they kissed and their current location.

"Yeah?" he replied just as quietly.

"I've changed my mind…or rather _you've_ changed my mind," she said, looking directly into his eyes. "I love snow."

Josh gave her a dimpled grin and another lingering kiss. "So do I, Donnatella, so do I."

"Just so we're clear though, no more snowballs aimed at me," Donna said through her own grin. 

Josh let out a burst of laughter and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "You'll have to offer me something in return," he quipped suggestively; Donna drew him into a passionate kiss. "That's not fair," Josh whined as they broke apart, "you've got a new bargaining tool."

Donna quirked an eyebrow. "Are you complaining?"

"No, not at all," he grinned, drawing her close again. "What do I get for restraining myself?"

Donna just gave him a mysterious look as she took his hand and led him into her apartment.

**

THE END


End file.
